Rob Ford sits back like a real godfather (as opposed to in my view the juvenile and ill-conceived ad caricature we’ve been subjected to), and slyly nods knowingly that he is well on the way to overcoming that hurdle in this election as well.

Today’s endorsement of Ford by former mayoral candidate Giorgio Mammoliti is more proof that Ford knows that power, or the prospect of power, is the greatest aphrodisiac of all, and that most councillors (current or new) would have a hard time resisting his invitation at this stage to join him in what is now almost a certain landslide victory.

Ford is now putting a coalition of councillors together and you can be sure the horse-trading is underway. Call it political opportunism if you like, but as Mammoliti said to me on the air this morning, “Rob Ford is going to be the mayor because people want change and the people who put him there expect councillors to help him pass the policy.”

Mammoliti told me he made his decision to endorse Ford after meeting with all of the candidates, but wasn’t as impressed with some of the policies or people behind his other campaigns. That could also mean that he realized none of them have enough mojo to win or to offer anything in exchange for his public support.

Let’s face it — based on the polling and lots of street chatter, people just aren’t into any of the others, and as outgoing veteran councillor Brian Ashton said to me on the air a few weeks ago, “when councillors get a whiff of the power, their nostrils flare wide open.” You can be sure that as we speak, Ford is spraying his scent under the noses of more than 23 councillors running for re-election or for the first time. Anybody wanna be deputy mayor? How about chair of a committee or executive council?